


Planting Seeds

by VoidGhost



Series: Widofjord Week 2k19 [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Blood Pacts, Cad POV, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Widofjord Week, if you squint it could be aro/ace cad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 23:51:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19239610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidGhost/pseuds/VoidGhost
Summary: Caduceus notices a lot. But that doesn’t mean he always gets what’s happening.





	Planting Seeds

**Author's Note:**

> My first part of widofjord week~  
> no promises of getting them all out on time - as of rn, i only have the first two days done lmao - but they all form one big story together from diff povs of the mighty nein. this one is Cad's.
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

Caduceus was the most observant of the group, and he knew this. 

He noticed when Jester swiped Nott’s flask, and he didn’t say anything. He noticed the Wildmother in more than just his dreams recently. When he was younger, he was the first one to notice when his siblings would try to play pranks on him - or join in when it was meant for someone else. 

That being said, he notices a lot. But that doesn’t mean he always gets what’s happening. 

He noticed the matching scars on Fjord and Caleb’s hands but he didn’t ask about it until he saw Caleb in the library of their Xhorhouse, his stack of books untouched as he examined the palm of his hand. 

He was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice Caduceus peering over his shoulder until he spoke, “That must’ve hurt.”

Caleb jumped in place and curled his palm, his face an odd color at getting caught off guard. “Oh, ah,  _ ja _ , it did.” He tapped his fingers on the table and glanced at the pile of books, looking for a way out of the conversation. 

“I don’t mean to pry,” Caduceus said, settling in the chair beside him. “But, if it bothers you, I could get rid of the scar.” 

To his surprise, Caleb shook his head. “No, ah, thank you. It’s sentimental.” He curled his hand protectively against his chest. 

Caduceus hummed thoughtfully. “If you don’t mind my asking, what does it mean to you?”

Caleb didn’t say anything for a while and Caduceus wondered if he did mind. He was about to apologize for prying when Caleb uncurled his hand to examine his palm again. 

“It is a reminder,” Caleb said, quietly. “Of someone who means a lot to me.” 

Caduceus hummed again. There was something nagging at the back of his head, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it yet. So he said, “That’s nice. Mr. Fjord must be a really good friend.” 

Caleb jolted in place and turned to Caduceus with wide-eyes, but Caduceus stood before any more words could be said. 

“I really must check on my garden,” Caduceus murmured, more for himself. “I left Jester up there with Nott.” The implications did not need explaining, and Caleb didn’t ask. 

With Caleb eyeing his back, Caduceus left, none the wiser. 

He also noticed, much later, that Fjord spends a lot of time looking at the other members of their party. He looked a lot at Jester, often with a fond smile, or at Nott, with something like suspicion or curiosity, or both. But Caduceus noticed that Fjord looked a lot more at Caleb. 

Even when their wizard was lost in his books, a quill between his lips as he scribed, sometimes with his tongue out the corner of his mouth or a wrinkle in his nose, Fjord watched. To Caduceus, it was unremarkable, certainly not something he would find interesting to watch, but he found Fjord grinning in a way that showed off his tusks, which he almost never did. 

Odd. 

He thought back to what Caleb said, and decided the feeling must be mutual if Fjord found the other so fascinating. But that nagging feeling was still at the back of his mind. 

“Does he have something in his teeth?” Caduceus asked once, on one of their rare nights in an inn somewhere in northern Xhorhas, as they sat at the bar waiting for food. The others were piled into a small booth that Fjord seemed fixated on. 

Fjord glanced at him. “Who?”

“Mr. Caleb. You keep staring at him.” 

Fjord’s face turned an interesting shade of green and he twisted back to face the bar. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

Caduceus cocked his head, was about to ask more since Fjord was clearly lying, when the nagging feeling at the back of his head suddenly made sense. 

As a young firbolg just learning his family’s business, he watched his sister deal with a client whose grandmother had passed. And after that, she kept coming back to talk to his sister. Just as friends, he thought, until he saw his sister blush when the client was mentioned, or when he caught her admiring a flower the client gave his sister. 

A crush. 

“Ooooh,” Caduceus said aloud. 

Fjord looked back at him, something tense in his expression. “What?”

Caduceus smiled. “It’s nothing. Just had a meaningless thought.” 

After all, he knew to observe these kinds of things from a distance. 

Their table gave a shout of laughter from the corner and Fjord took another peek. Caduceus did, too; Beau was nudging Caleb who had broken from his studies to cover his face, apparently being teased for something. 

When word of this starts to spread, Caduceus couldn’t say the same for his companions. 


End file.
